Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle - Softcover

Dan Everett has written an excellent book. First, it is a very powerful autobiographical account of his stay with the Piraha in the jungles of the Amazon basin. Second, it is a brilliant piece of ethnographical description of life among the Piraha. And third, and perhaps most important in the long run, his data and his conclusions about the language of the Piraha run dead counter to the prevailing orthodoxy in linguistics. If he is right, he will permanently change our conception of human language (John Searle, Slusser Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley)

Dan Everett is the most interesting man I have ever met. This story about his life among the Pirahas is a fascinating read. His observations and claims about the culture and language of the Pirahas are astounding. Whether or not all of his hypotheses turn out to be correct, Everett has forced many researchers to re-evaluate basic assumptions about the relationship among culture, language and cognition. I strongly recommend the book (Edward Gibson, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

A remarkable and often painful story of anthropological endeavour (Caroline Sanderson Bookseller)

Astonishing... a warm tribute to this people's unique way of seeing the world... full of wonder while conveying the fragility of the Piraha way (Waterstone's Books Quarterly 2008-09-01)

Fascinating (Kirkus 2008-10-01)

Fascinating and candid (Publisher's Weekly 2008-09-29)

Unforgettable (Booklist 2008-11-01)

This is an astonishing book: a work of exploration, into the most distant place and language, but also a revelation of the way language is shaped by thought and circumstance (Ben Macintyre The Times 2008-10-25)

Rigorous (Stuart Kelly Scotland on Sunday 2008-11-09)

Destined to become a classic of popular enthnography (David Papineau Independent 2008-11-14)